Welcome to the kitchen at Fort Ross. The beautiful
views, the sounds of daily life and the warmth of the fires make cooking in
the outdoor kitchen a pleasure. The abundance of food at Ross was a luxury.
The cultural exchanges between the Russians and the Spanish, Mexicans,
Kashaya, and Native Alaskans created a unique and diverse menu. Nowhere else
along the California coast were these pleasant exchanges of foods and cooking
ideas taking place. There was a wide variety of foods available in the Russian
day: raised and hunted meats, ocean foods, cultivated grains, fruits and
vegetables, native berries, wild nuts, along with the trade foods from around
the world. This bounty gives you plenty of options in planning your menu.
As cooks, you are responsible for the Fort Ross kitchen
and the preparation of meals for the inhabitants. Your task starts before your
arrival at the Fort and continues through the overnight stay. We strongly encourage that Russian or local Native California
(Kashaya or Coast Miwok) foods to be served. Following is a list of foods
known to have been imported or have been grown at Fort Ross. Use it as a guide
for the recipes you may choose. Making up the menu with different foods than
you have at home is an important part of the experience. We strongly encourage
that the children who are the cooks decide on the menu.
You will be cooking outside on open fires that may be a
new and exciting challenge. If it
rains hard, you may have to move inside the Officials’Quarters and use our
back up propane camp stove.
What the cooks employees are saying!
CLASSROOM PREPARATION
1.
Review the recipes and eating habits of Russian people.
2.
Prepare a menu for dinner, Night watch treat and hot
drink, breakfast, and snacks. Keep your dinner menu simple.
3.
Use a variety of foods and let the students choose.
4.
Purchase supplies that you will need to make the
recipes you have chosen. As you pack for the big trip, box the ingredients
for each recipe in separate boxes. That makes it very easy to find all your
ingredients when you start to cook.
5.
Have a tin of cookies for each group with cocoa pack in
it for the night watch. Tins
can be purchased at secondhand stores.
6.
Make a banner for your group.
EQUIPMENT
SUPPLIED FOR COOKS:
Cooking utensils, pots, pans, griddles, butter churn,
knives, can openers, ladles, spatulas, washtubs and buckets are available
for your use. All kitchen items are in the ELP storage room in the Kuskov
house. There is a list of equipment supplied in this manual.
Students
and parents will need to bring their own drinking cup, plate/bowl and
silverware.
Firewood
You will need enough wood to keep three fires going during the day and
one fire all-night. If you live a great distance and/or just can’t
bring wood, we do have some wood available on-site. At the very least, do
bring some kindling. Our wood is often wet and sometimes green.
Drinking
Water.
Our water is safe to drink but may have an off flavor due to treatment. It
is a good idea to bring some bottled water with you. Depending on the
weather and the size of your group, you might need from 2 to 6 gallons.
Linens
can be purchased rather cheaply from your local linen supply house. Used
linens are sold for about a dollar a pound. You would only need about 10
pounds. They are useful to cover the tables as well as for dish towels and
miscellaneous clean up chores.
Thrift
shops are handy for buying baskets, wooden bowls, silverware,
aprons, and other costume and kitchen needs for each student.
Remember to Bring
1.
Linen or towels for
use in the kitchen
2.
Dish soap, bleach, and
hand soap
3.
Firewood for the fire
4.
Drinking water
5.
Oil for seasoning the
pots
6.
Cream for the butter
churn
Officers: 1.)
________________________ 2.) _________________________
1. ______________________________
aka ______________________
2. ______________________________
aka ______________________
3. ______________________________
aka ______________________
4. ______________________________
aka ______________________
5. ______________________________
aka ______________________
6. ______________________________
aka ______________________
Meeting
Time:
Meet at the cooking area after the orientation
1.
Organize pots, pans and cooking materials on the tables
in the kitchen area. Look at recipes and decide in a group when you have to
do what.
2.
Churn butter.
3.
Prepare snack to serve at 3:00pm. Make beeswax candles for class.
4.
Prepare dinner meal to serve at 5:15pm (varies with
sunset)
5.
Prepare a group skit, song or presentation for the
evening that will communicate what your group did and experienced. Write in journal.
6.
After 4:30, move personal sleeping gear into back of
Rotchev House.
7.
Know when to stand your night watch and what your
morning clean-up chores will be.
8.
Morning: Prepare
and serve breakfast by 7:45 AM. Make sure everybody is up!!!
9.
Return kitchen equipment to proper place in ELP room.
Please be sure all utensils are thoroughly cleaned, pots washed inside and
out and dried before taking back to the store room. Please be neat; Chalk
lines help to remind you where things should go.
1.
Follow the Officers’ instructions at all times.
2.
Obey all safety rules--be especially careful with
knives, axes and fire.
3.
Keep the kitchen area as neat and clean as possible.
4.
Wash hands before handling food.
Night Watch:
9:00 – 11:00 Wake up Artisans in front of the Rotchev House.
Morning
Responsibilities: Pack
personal gear, and remove it from the Rotchev house. Sweep back of Rotchev
House and Chapel. Check for wax
and litter. Help load cars. If
your group is finished and another group is not, ask: “What can I do to
help?”
Morning Hike
(optional):
Orchard, beach, cemetery
Soups like Borscht or Shchi served with
hearty breads.
Piroshki (meat and/or
vegetable pies) are traditional fare in Russian homes. They are easy to make
and are delicious.
Potatoes cooked any
number of ways: in a stew, creamed, or boiled with the churned butter on top
are appropriate.
Marinated
beets are often a
new and interesting food to try.
Kasha or grains
can also be served in a variety of ways.
Different grains can include a 9-grain cereal, wild rice or buckwheat.
Try roasting them on the fire before cooking.
For a tasty breakfast, add nuts and dried fruits or berries to the
grains, serve with cream if you wish.
Dark Rye
Breads or “Mission” style grain breads can be ordered from your local bakery. It is most
important that the bread be different from the bread that the children usually
eat. Using round loaves of bread can add to the difference.
Fish: It is
possible that the hunters may bring in a fish or two. Be prepared to pan-fry
the hunters’ catch.
Churning butter is a fun and traditional
activity. Manufacturing cream, which is far superior to regular whipping or
heavy cream for churning, can be special ordered from most supermarkets or
dairies. However, do not worry if you can only get the regular cream.
A half-gallon container should be plenty for your group.
The cream will turn to butter more easily if it is at
room temperature. Take cream out of the cooler shortly after you arrive at the
fort. Wrap a towel around the
churn, including the top, to keep it from cooling from the action of churning.
Churning action is up and down with a twist of the wrist in both directions.
Churning must be continuous! Don’t stop before butter has formed.
The crock is very fragile.
Please be very careful with it.
Coffee
can be a different experience when you bring green coffee beans. Roast them on
the open fire, grind and then pour boiling water on top. Then let grinds
settle. It makes great coffee and will help parents and teachers get through
chilly afternoons and night watch.
Herb teas are a treat
for the kids. Herb teas could replace cocoa for night watch. Russian Tea Cakes can be served with herb teas or
cocoa for night watch.
Fires
-
The militia crew should help the cooks to lay, light and maintain the cooking
fires. Make sure that your fires don’t get too big and too hot to cook on.
Hand
washing - There is a hand-washing bucket in with the kitchen
gear. Set it up near the faucet area. Fill it with water, put a drop or two of
bleach in it and have a bar of soap and towels nearby.
Hot
Water for dishwashing is provided by building a nice fire
under the big spider pot in the cooking area. Do not put galvanized tubs on
the fire to heat water!
Leftovers
and scraps from the kitchen should be taken to the garden compost pile before
nightfall. We provide a galvanized tub to be used for this task.
Please, do not put food in the trashcans. Raccoons are a bit of a problem at
Settlement Ross.
Trash - There are
two trash barrels at the privies. Please try not to overfill the trashcans. If
they are full, ask for a new trash bag or use the extra that is in the can.
Recycling - There is
a recycle bin located near the trash barrels. We can only take aluminum cans
and glass. You may also take back those items to help reimburse your program
funding. If you have other recyclable trash, please take it home with you.
Food was abundant at Settlement Ross. Below is a list
of foods known to have been either grown by Ross residents, introduced to the
settler’s diet by Native Alaskan or Pomo cultures, or brought to the colony
through trade. All but the foods known to the Pomo people were, of course,
introduced to the region’s ecology. Seeds and plants were brought from all
over the world. Radishes, for example, came from China. The peppers grown at
the settlement were introduced by the Spanish from South America. The list is
not intended to be a complete inventory, and research is ongoing.
FOODS
FROM THE LOCAL FIELDS, GARDENS AND ORCHARDS:
Fruits: peaches,
apples, pears, apricots, cherries, quince, plums, grapes.
Melons:
casabas, watermelons, cantaloupes.
Honey: from
beehives in the orchard
Mushrooms:
gathered from nature
Meats: Domestic Livestock -
Cattle: meat, milk, cheese, butter, hides
Pig: meat, hides
Goat: meat, hides
Chickens: meat, eggs, feathers
Fish:
various ocean and freshwater
Vegetables: winter
squashes,
pumpkins. cabbage, served both fresh
and as sauerkraut Beets,
turnips, carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic,
radishes, horseradish, peas,
beans, lettuce, parsley, mints,
Grains: millet, wheat, barley, buckwheat (kasha).
Wild
Animals: Deer: meat,
hides, horns
Elk: meat,
hides. Quail: meat
Flowers: roses, calendula.
POMO
INFLUENCE:
purslane,
miner’s lettuce,
mustard greens
bay laurel, acorns
wild grains
roots: cattail etc.
shellfish
dill, fennel
blackberries,
huckleberries
thimbleberries
NATIVE
ALASKAN:
Seagull: eggs, feather
Seal: meat, oil, intestines
TRADE
FOODS--SPANISH, EUROPEAN, CHINESE:
Rye, cornmeal, oats, rice.
Sugar.
Herbs and seasonings
Sage, pepper, rosemary, ginger, dill, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, mace,
molasses, poppy seed.
Olive oil.
Beans: garbanzo, Mexican frijoles.
Cranberries.
Drinks:
Tea, coffee.
Cranberry juice or other locally grown fruit juices
Russian Kvass (a yeasted
fruit drink)
Tea was introduced to Russia in 1640. Russian ambassadors from the Mongol camps brought with them
packets of tea. It instantly was
praised for its medicinal powers and ability to refresh and purify the blood.
By the beginning of the 18th century tea had become the
national drink and asking one to partake in tea was a traditional sign of
hospitality. A samovar was
essential to the brewing of tea and they began appearing at this time in a
great variety of shapes and sizes. The
traditional spherical, cylindrical and tapered samovars began to be made in
great quantities so that by the end of the 19th century production
was around1/2 million per year. The
samovar creates its own coziness at the table and the participants generally
declare the tea is usually tastier.
Tea from the
Samovar
A Russian Tea Party begins when the hostess fills the
samovar with cold water and puts burning coal in the draft chimney.
She boils the water and carries the samovar to the table.
To make the tea she rinses a porcelain or ceramic (never metal) teapot
with some boiling water. She
fills the teapot with loose tea (using 1tbs. of tea for every 3 cups of water)
and pours boiling water until 3/4s full.
After letting it steep for 5-6 minutes, she tops the essence off with
some more boiling water.
Tea from a samovar is a mixed drink: strong tea from
the pot, diluted to taste with hot water from the spigot. Serve with sugar cubes and a slice of fresh lemon.
If you are familiar with the semovar you may use the one we have at
Fort Ross or you can bring your own semovar to make Russian tea. If you plan
to use the one at the fort you must know how to operate it.
Instruction may not be available.
Russian
Stoves by
John Middleton
The
typical Russian stove is a heater, a bake oven, a dryer, a cook-fire and
venting system for other appliances. At
the same time, one can bake, make soups, roast meat, cook porridge, brew teas
and coffee, and heat the house all through the night with this truly efficient
and remarkable device. Thermal
mass is the key to the Russian stove. More
correctly termed a masonry heater, the stove is an intricate system of runs
and baffles which channel the heated fumes up, down, back and then up again
through the chimney, heating the different passages to provide a uniform 150
to 200 degrees F. to the external bricks.
Once heated, these bricks slowly radiate warmth for up to 48 hours.
The stoves are fired with kindling only. The firebox is filled and lighted. The fire is allowed full draft, creating a very hot blaze (up
to 1,200 degrees F.). Once the
fire has burned to ash the baffle is closed and the door put in place.
The heat, trapped inside can now be used for cooking or baking.
This extremely efficient system uses only 40% of the wood required to
heat a room with a conventional fireplace.
The high temperatures also insure the secondary combustion of gases in
the baffle system thus eliminating creosote buildup.
Cooking
on a Russian stove can be as simple as on a modern stove.
The firebox, once emptied of ash, provides two or three temperature
zones. The rear, accessible with
the long handled potholders, retains the highest heat appropriate for
roasting, baking and making soups. Cooking
grains such as kasha or rice require
the lower heat of the forward chamber. A
samovar vented through a stovepipe is used to heat water.
Long handled potholders and the clip-handle that attaches to pans are
conveniently stored in a chamber below the firebox along with kindling. The
exterior of the stove provides other advantages.
Small hooks on the side are used for drying shoes, boots and socks.
A tall wooden cabinet built against the side is used as a closet for
wet clothing and towels. During
the long Russian winter, entire families often slept on the top of the stove,
or along the stove’s side on a bench.
The Russian stove has been a symbol of Russian hospitality, and the center of many Russian village homes.
3:00 Snack: Dried
fruit – cranberries, apricots, pineapple, etc. Mixed Nuts Beef jerky Soft
cheese with crackers and/or bread Whole
fruit Dinner
ideas: Pick at least three items Soups -
borscht, shchi, stews, Fresh fish
– Salmon when in season Piroshki Potatoes Green
Beans Breads Churned
Butter Salad Berries
over sweet grain Tapioca Pumpkin
Porridge Kasha –
Mixed grain hot cereal served with butter, brown
sugar, yogurts, and molasses to drizzle on the cereal Breads Butter Jams Sliced
cheeses Scrambled
eggs Fruit
Buildings
Fire
pit area
Heating
Water
Use large
spider pot for heating water. DO NOT put tin washtubs on the fire to heat
water.
Washing
dishes
Tarps
Caring
for Cast Iron
Lanterns
Putting
Things Away
Broken
Items